Britain’s trade deficit narrowed to £3.2 billion in November, as plunging oil prices cut the cost of imports.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the total trade deficit for goods and services fell from £3.5 billion in October.
It added that the deficit for goods alone also narrowed to £10.6 billion in November from £11.2 billion the month before.

Oil was swept along by volatility in Chinese markets, rallying from a 12-year low as the country sought to quell losses in its equities and stabilize its currency.
Futures rose as much as 3.2 percent in New York after China suspended a controversial equity circuit breaker system and its central bank set the yuan’s reference rate little changed after an eight-day stretch of weaker fixings. Crude slid Thursday to the lowest since December 2003 as market turbulence reverberated across the globe amid concern over economic growth in the world’s biggest energy consumer.

Oil fell, giving up some of a rally Tuesday that helped push U.S. stocks toward a gain for 2015. Chinese shares in Hong Kong fell as the offshore yuan touched an almost five-year low, while the US dollar extended its advance.
West Texas Intermediate crude dropped 1.9 percent, holding above $37 a barrel. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures fluctuated after the US benchmark halted a two-day slide. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index fell for a third day, widening a divergence with mainland equities.

Oil extended losses from the lowest close in two months before U.S. government data forecast to show crude stockpiles expanded in the world’s biggest consumer.
Futures slid as much as 1.5 percent in New York, falling for a third day. Inventories probably rose by 3.1 million barrels last week, according to a Bloomberg survey before an Energy Information Administration report Wednesday. Algeria supports Venezuela’s call for a summit of heads of state from OPEC and other oil-exporting nations to lift prices, Algerian Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra said in Paris.
Oil’s rally above $50 a barrel earlier this month failed as surging U.S. inventories bolstered speculation that a global glut will be prolonged. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries continues to pump above its quota and the International Energy Agency sees world crude supplies remaining ample until at least the middle of 2016.

Oil swung between gains and losses near the lowest closing price in almost four weeks as investors weighed a slowing pace of U.S. drilling-rig reductions against an interest rate cut in China.
Futures in New York rose as much as 0.5 percent and fell as much as 0.4 percent. The number of active machines targeting oil dropped by 1 through Oct. 23 after declining by 45 over the prior three weeks, according to Baker Hughes Inc. China, the world’s second-biggest crude consumer, stepped up monetary easing with its sixth interest-rate cut in a year on Friday to combat deflationary pressures and a slowing economy.
Oil is failing to sustain a rally earlier this month above $50 a barrel as surging U.S. inventories bolstered speculation that a global glut will be prolonged. World crude supplies will remain ample until at least the middle of 2016 while investments in the industry is set to shrink further, International Energy Agency Executive Director Fatih Birol said in Singapore on Monday.

Oil headed for the biggest weekly gain since August amid speculation an increase in demand will ease a global glut.
Futures climbed as much as 1 percent in New York and are up 9.4 percent this week. A “new capital discipline” in the industry will allow consumption to catch up with supply, boosting prices, Gary Ross, the founder and chairman of PIRA Energy Group, said Thursday.
World oil use will expand more than forecast this year, according to Abdalla Salem El-Badri, the secretary-general of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

Oil climbed to the highest level in a month amid speculation that falling crude production will ease the global supply glut.
Futures rose as much as 5.6 percent in London and 5.1 percent in New York. The first signs of recovery in the oil market are beginning to appear, Royal Dutch Shell Plc Chief Executive Officer Ben Van Beurden said at an industry conference in London Tuesday, though the company still plans for a long period of low prices. U.S. crude output fell 120,000 barrels a day in September, the Energy Information Administration said.
Oil has held near $45 a barrel for more than four weeks after plunging to a six-year low in August amid speculation a global glut will be prolonged. U.S. crude stockpiles remain about 100 million barrels above the five-year average, while OPEC continues to pump above its collective quota.

Oil’s holding near $45 while the bad news keeps coming. For investor Jim Rogers, that’s usually a sign a rebound’s round the corner.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is still pumping near record amounts of oil, China’s imports have slowed and US crude stockpiles remain about 100 million barrels above the five-year seasonal average.
Yet, US benchmark prices have held steady for more than four weeks since plunging to a six- year low at the end of August.

The speed at which oil wells spitting out their final drops of unprofitable crude will be shut may hold the key to an eventual rebound if prices fall further.
Crude prices tumbling to $30 a barrel would threaten the profitability of about 206,000 barrels per day of production from older wells that produce minimal amounts of oil, according to a report.

Brent prices jumped by $11 in the month of September marking the largest gain in three days since 1990, according to a market update.
The latest findings from KPMG showed volatility in the oil markets has persisted in August and mid-September brought on by China’s financial slump and its wider effect on the markets.
The price jump per barrel was influenced by speculation of an OPEC production cut.

The price of Brent crude has broken back above the $50 barrier as a report on inventories in the US outweighed a gloomy outlook on manufacturing in China.
Benchmark Brent rose more than 2% after the Energy Information Administration said US crude inventories fell 1.9 million barrels to 453.97 million last week, exceeding analysts expectations.

Oil in London slid below $45 a barrel for the first time since March 2009 as Iran reiterated it will boost production and U.S. drillers showed no signs of slowing.
Brent futures fell as much as 2.7 percent, extending a 7.3 percent drop last week, the most in five months. Iran will expand output “at any cost” to defend market share, Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said, according to his ministry’s news website. The number of active oil rigs in the U.S. rose for the seventh time in eight weeks, Baker Hughes Inc. data showed Friday.

When the financial crisis brought the global economy to its knees, Norway was largely unscathed. But oil under $50? That's another story.
Unemployment peaked at about 3.7 percent in 2010 in the post-crisis aftermath. Falling oil prices already pushed the jobless rate to 4.3 percent in May, the highest in at least 11 years, and that was before a renewed drop in Brent crude.
Here are a few ways it's harder for Norway to deal with plunging oil prices than a global financial meltdown.

The oil guru who predicted last year’s rout said $100-a-barrel crude is likely to return within five years as faltering supply fails to meet demand.
Gary Ross, the founder of consultants PIRA Energy Group, said oil markets aren’t nearly as oversupplied as many believe and spare capacity is tight since Saudi Arabia is pumping all the crude it can without new drilling.
“Current prices are unsustainable,” he said Monday in an interview in London. “It’s hard not to see oil hitting $100 a barrel at some point in the next five years.”

Brent held losses near a two-week low amid a broader rout in commodities as Iran’s plan to regain market share bolstered speculation a global glut will persist.
Futures were little changed in London after falling 0.8 percent Monday. Iran is seeking to restore production once sanctions are removed regardless of the impact on prices, Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said. US crude stockpiles are set to remain almost 100 million barrels above the five-year seasonal average even as supplies are forecast to have dropped for a second week.
Brent’s recovery from a six-year low has faltered on signs the surplus will be prolonged as Iran seeks to restore output after its nuclear accord with world powers, joining OPEC members in defending market share.
The full impact of increased Iranian exports won’t be observed until 2016, banks including Citigroup Inc. predicted.

Oil dropped to a three-month low in New York on the prospect that increasing Iranian shipments will extend the global supply glut.
West Texas Intermediate crude extended losses in the wake of a third weekly retreat.
Iran will focus on regaining oil sales it lost due to sanctions regardless of the impact on prices, Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said in Tehran. The United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted an Iran deal resolution Monday.

Brent slid below $60 a barrel for the first time since April amid speculation Greece’s rejection of austerity measures will prompt its exit from the euro area.
Futures dropped as much as 1.6 percent in London, falling for a second day. Sixty-one percent of voters backed Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’s rejection of further spending cuts and tax increases. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry tempered expectations that a nuclear deal with Iran is imminent as diplomats meeting in Vienna work toward a Tuesday deadline.
Oil last week slumped the most since March amid speculation the Greek crisis threatens Europe’s economic stability and growth, prompting investors to eschew riskier assets. Iran, the fourth-largest member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, has estimated it could double crude exports from about 1 million barrels a day within six months of sanctions being lifted.
“We’ve seen a bit of a capitulation in oil,” Ric Spooner, a chief analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney, said by phone. “The situation in Greece has a confidence impact on demand. A nuclear agreement with Iran represents a negative risk event for oil in terms of the possible significant increase in supply.”

Oil held losses below $60 a barrel as near- record U.S. production prolonged an oversupply amid the lowest trading volatility in eight months.
Futures were little changed in New York after declining 1 percent on Thursday. U.S. crude stockpiles remained 84 million barrels above the five-year average for this time of the year while the nation pumped near the fastest pace in more than three decades of weekly government data. A measure of price fluctuations in West Texas Intermediate dropped to the lowest level since Oct. 29.

Oil extended its slide below $50 a barrel before US government data forecast to show crude inventories expanded from a record high in the world’s biggest consumer.
Futures fell as much as 1.2% in New York for a fifth day of declines, the longest losing streak since August.
Crude stockpiles probably rose by 3.75 million barrels last week, a Bloomberg News survey showed before an Energy Information Administration report on Wednesday.